


Bad Bets on Rishi

by Kartaylir



Series: Black Codex: Reconstruction in Progress [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Alley Sex, F/M, Rishi (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 19:29:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21433507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kartaylir/pseuds/Kartaylir
Summary: Sometimes flirting is just flirting, sometimes it's a way to tease out if a certain SIS agent actually knows about that time his agency used mind control.It's also good for free drinks.
Relationships: Female Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine/Theron Shan
Series: Black Codex: Reconstruction in Progress [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546303
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

She’d been on Rishi for only a few days and had already gotten into half a dozen fights. None of them notable, the small-time pirates were only a challenge in quantity and the large outfits had enough discipline to not draw their blasters at every new figure who wandered by.

It saved Wrath from having to play pirate, at least. A Sith Pureblood and a trail of lightsaber wounds weren’t the most amenable to such a disguise.

And it also got her out of the small building where Lana Beniko and Theron Shan had been hiding. Unfortunately, she could only wander the streets for so long. Eventually she found herself back there again, waiting. 

“Got a sabacc deck here if you want it,” Theron said, staring at her across one of the small tables that decorated their safehouse. “Centran style. We’ve been betting on uh...who has to take the next watch mostly.”

She didn’t let herself freeze up at the words, and instead gave the (former) SIS agent a calm smile. Of course he’d chosen the version Ardun Kothe had named her for. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was a tradition within the organization, or merely chance. “Seems the SIS is fond of that variant, but I never liked Legate as a tiebreaker.” A pause, as she eyed his reaction. The lack thereof. “Always preferred Jhabacc, myself.”

Theron nodded, smiled at her in turn. It seemed he’d not noticed the edge beneath her voice; that for him this was just a normal conversation about cards.

At least until a moment later, when his face flushed suddenly. He lowered his head to stare down at the table. “Don’t have the cards for that here, but we could hit up one of the cantinas. Hear one of them keeps a bottle of Vosh behind the counter.”

“I want to play, not carry you out over my shoulder. And I thought you Republic sorts preferred the Cassandra Sunrise?”

He coughed a little as if she’d hit some sort of nerve. “Zeltron spiced wine then? Loser buys.”

Well, that explained the blushing. She favored him with a smirk and nodded. It seemed flirtation was the real game in play. “Let’s go. And how about...oh, you win I owe you a favor, I win you owe me a kiss. Not like the SIS can fire you again. ”

He choked on his response, finally managed to hold up his hand in an agreeing gesture. She rested a hand a hand softly atop his shoulder; felt the stiff surface of his jacket beneath the touch, the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat below that.

Well, not so gentle then. Theron had looked away, but she could guess that his cheeks had turned once again to red.

She was going to enjoy this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even a place as scenic as Rishi still has its alleyways, as well as those taking advantage of them.

They’d gone through three games of Jhaabac and two bottles of Zeltron wine before they put on a pretense of stumbling out into the alley. Theron had spilled a little of the wine onto her coat for good measure, and the former Cipher shrugged that stained layer of cloth off with an aura of relative ease.

The shirt beneath was a simple black piece that left her shoulders bare. Left some of her smaller scars exposed. Nicks from too close of brushes with vibroblades, a long-faded mark from a blaster burn.. A few branching lines crept out over the back of her shoulder, themselves only a hint of all the scars Darth Jadus had given her.

“You want to find a little hole in the wall somewhere?” Theron asked. His hand crept toward his blaster as another group of drunken pirates stumbled by. 

She forced herself to wobble a little as she walked; made a show of stabilizing herself with a hand to the small of his back. Their implants could easily compensate for such things, but to do so would be to hint at the quality of them.

Already she suspected Theron’s to be better than hers, or at least more refined for slicing. She’d certainly not have objected to a closer look.

“Don’t think the locals go to that much trouble,” she said, pointing out a pair of half-naked Nautolans down one of the smaller alleys. “Rather not stand out more than we have to.”

Theron’s cheeks flushed a sudden shade of red. She found herself starting to like that color.

“I, uhh, you sure that’s sanitary?” he asked.

“Use your mouth and you won’t even have to take your pants off.”

At that he proved that he could turn an even deeper shade of red. She sighed and grabbed him by his shoulder, tugging him over toward one of the darker corners of an empty alleyway.

Theron seemed to have recovered by the time they reached it, though the shadows hid some of the finer details of his face there. Moonlight glinted off the implants in his brow.

“You like my mouth?” he said finally.

“Not just your mouth,” the Cipher said. It was even true, so far as such things went. There was something all too honest about the way he smiled. 

It was no wonder that he’d focused on slicing rather than other specialities. There was no shortage of intelligence work where too much honesty got you killed.

Theron finally stopped gaping and leaned in to kiss her. He was a beacon of warmth against the chill of the evening, the heat of it a defense against the cold stone now resting against her back. Most other species always felt as such to her, with bodies that wasted heat rather than regulating it against the cold.

He wrapped his arms around her, let his fingers drift down her spine. Across the hidden set of surgical scars that surrounded it. She ran a hand through his hair in turn, exploring, memorizing.

“Never had such a good look at those sort of implants before,” she said, once their lips finally parted. “Best distract me so I don’t take too long of one.”

That made Theron laugh, a brief chuckle that only turned his cheeks a little red. He seemed to be adjusting. Perhaps they both were. 

She smiled when he shifted one hand so he could undo her pants, so he could pull down the undergarments beneath. His other hand rested against the small of her back as welcome support. And then, as if he knew just what she wanted, he knelt before her.

His lips felt even warmer between her legs. His tongue wet and teasing, all too content to explore across her at first. As if they had all the time in the galaxy.

What a pleasant fantasy that might have been. She twisted her fingers in his hair and pushed his head further against her, enough that his implants to jutted into her thighs. The gesture pushed her back as well, left her supported by the dirt and duracrete of the alley wall. 

“Hurry,” she said. “Can do moonglow and wine tomorrow.” 

Alleys were no place for romance.

She felt the reverberation of laughter through her thighs as he thrust his tongue in further, parting her open. He curled it slightly as it pushed at her clit, and the sense of his delight in this was near as wonderful as his touch.

He’d be such perfect company for Zeltros. Such joy was contagious there.

But such thoughts could not keep her from noticing as new shadows approached their alley. Two figures had started to wander their way down, their posture too stiff for mere lost drunkards.

One held a blaster in his gloved hand; neither of them bore the insignia of one of Rishi’s many pirate gangs. And both their faces were masked. They could be any of a hundred species for all she could tell.

“Alley’s taken,” she said, holding Theron in place with one hand as she drew her blaster with the other. He said something, concern still muffled between her thighs.

“You Howling Tempest should know your place.” That was the figure with his blaster drawn. Even his voice was garbled. Someone had likely paid him too much for the promise of anonymity.

He waved his blaster and she hit his hand with one shot. The weapon slid, half-melted against the alley wall. The man screamed.

His blood at least was red. That narrowed matters down.

Theron pulled his head from her grasp at the scream, drew his blaster in turn. His lips were wet enough to glisten.

The remaining mercenary seemed frozen a moment by shock. Cipher Nine allowed herself a sigh and then looked to him. “Sure you want to keep arguing about my place?”

He grabbed his still-screaming ally by the shoulder and started to back away. “I’ll let you finish.”

Theron frowned once the mercenaries were gone. “I hate pirates.” A few droplets of blood had landed on his back, splattered themselves across his hair. He looked up at her for just a few seconds, the time, a question spoken and answered only in silence. Then he once again pressed his face between her legs.

His tongue delved more urgently. Until she shivered at the pressure of it against her, bit her lip as it slid to once again toy with her clit. Heat teased her amid the chill of the air. Warmth twisted its way into her limbs; she sheathed her weapon ere her body began to shake.

The alley was dark, filthy, and smelled of piss. But even there she could see the distant light of stars; the Rishi maze the brightest above them.

Beneath such light she could feel everything. A hint of lichen on the stone behind her, the fading scents of sweat and blood. Every tremor of her body beneath his attention. 

She couldn’t help but wonder how many ways he could kill her, like this. More than enough to keep things interesting.

For one moment she merely felt rather than thought. Gasped, draped one leg across Theron’s shoulder. Droplets of errant rain splashed down upon her face. She felt the dirt of the alley as it rubbed against her braided hair.

The air around them seemed far colder in contrast to the engulfing heat of Theron’s touch. 

But such abated quickly, as it always did. The lights above were merely distant stars, the alley a thing of duracrete and mud.

Finally she took a deep breath, then reached down to lift up Theron’s chin as she lowered her leg back to the ground. Brushed a flake of drying blood from his hair.

“You look good like this,” she said. “But maybe you’re right about the room.”

He stood and leaned in against her. His breath was wet and heavy, his cock pressed against the fabric of his clothes. It would not take long to make him melt beneath her.

“I know a place,” he whispered. He didn’t move away. “Can’t promise the moonglow though.”

She laughed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Couldn’t afford it anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this grew more chapters. I'm hoping to get chapter 3 out around 12/12, and any further Rishi adventures after that will be a new fic or two.


	3. Chapter 3

They’d grabbed another bottle on their way from the alley, this one a local wine of dubious quality. Theron laughed at the art on the label, a blurred picture of a vibroblade held by a half-grown pirate with a terrible stance.

The Cipher brushed the blood from his skin, the dirt from her hair as they walked. The stars still lit the sky above them, and the night was lively with the sounds of pirates and a thousand petty sorts of crime.

One of Lana’s droids still wandered, extolled the threat of the Howling Tempest to passers-by at every turn. 

“Tell me that wasn’t your idea,” the Cipher said as she elbowed Theron slightly in the side. He mock-winced and then leaned against her, waving the bottle in a pretense of inebriation. 

“Left that to the person who knows you. Knows your boss.”

That got a raised eyebrow, not that Theron could see it from his current angle. The ploy had worked, true, but only because Wrath had had her there to play the pirate in his stead.

But then, maybe Lana Beniko had dug up just enough to know a certain former Cipher had passed herself off as a pirate at least once before. Or just presumed that she’d be able to do so. Either was reasonable enough.

“Where’s this hole in the wall of yours?” she asked. 

Theron pointed the bottle down one of the streets and leaned against her a little more. The weight of it was enough that she soon braced herself to keep from tipping over. 

There was only one door to choose from down that street, and just a single bored-looking Rodian in the room behind it. He shoved a key at them in exchange for a few credits, muttered that they had an hour in slurred Huttese.

“A whole hour,” she said once they were inside the room. The door locked at least, and the sheets showed no notable stains as they stretched over the creaking mattress. Theron set the bottle on the floor beside it.

“Plenty of time for—” He sat down on the edge of the bed and then paused. He kept his tone light, but she could hear the edge, the worry behind it. “This isn’t the part where you kill me, right? We’re past that?”

“You’re with the Howling Tempest now,” she said, and pressed a hand against his chest, the gesture gentle despite the force behind it. “We don’t turn on our own.”

He was quick to take that cue. A place like this might not attract much notice, but it was hardly secure. “Never expected to wind up with a crew like this,” he said. 

“It does have its merits,” she said, as she pushed him back onto the bed. The mattress and part of the frame bent beneath him, and yet he smiled. Kicked off his shoes as she climbed onto the bed atop him.

He slipped out of his pants and underwear as well, then stared up at her, raised one hand to the line of her neck. “Take your shirt off this time?” he asked, with sudden hesitation. “I won’t ask questions about the scars.”

It was no surprise to her that he’d noticed the hints of those, the marks that were among the few records of her battles that remained. He had been SIS, after all. Might still be if they all survived this.

She twisted the cloth of his shirt in her hand and pulled it roughly up over his head. Tossed it to the floor on the other side. Then, once he could see again she pulled up the hand he’d previously placed on her neck, and set it atop the thin stretch of fabric that comprised her shirt.   
He drew it up over her head, and then carefully undid the rest of her undergarments. His hand stopped at the scars around her spine, the remnants of the surgery Watcher X had performed so long ago.

“Never expected to see a Chiss like this,” he murmured, and there was something hesitant in the way his hands lingered over her spine. One of them crept up and lingered on the back of her shoulder to test the sensation there.

She shivered, and slid herself down atop him. Theron gasped, his fingers dug into her skin. 

“Tell me something else,” she said. 

He groaned, as if uncertain of his words. “I don’t know,” he said, so softly. “I’m guessing here. Did you let me win at Jhaabac? ”

At that she leaned back, twisted her hips atop him. Drew forth another gasp from his lips. “Maybe the first time,” she said. “Tell me something _here_.” 

“You always this cold? This curious?” he asked, and his other hand crept up, traced the thin scar across her stomach.

“Are you always this warm?”

“Huh?” he said, uncertain.

She leaned forward to rest her hands on his chest. Let her touch explore him at a pace far slower than the movements of her hips. He lifted his head in turn to kiss her, and his tongue still tasted of all the care he had lavished on her earlier.

Another groan; he shook, buried his head against her shoulder. His nails dug into the scars of her stomach and shoulder, tore feeling from the numbed flesh beneath.

Finally he laid his head back down upon the groaning bed and smiled. “Been thinking about this since I first saw you. Most people don’t stay calm for that kind of mess.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” she said, as she rolled off of him and curled up at his side. 

“I can see that,” he said. He propped himself up on an elbow. Laid one of his hands upon her thigh.

She let her gaze linger on the glint of metal around his eyes, the unsure smirk on his lips. Wrapped her own fingers around his and set their joined hands back against his chest.

“What else do you see?” she asked.

He ran his other hand over the scar on her stomach again; seemed to pause in thought. “Lots sorts of things I don’t want to forget. How many fights you’ve survived,” he pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her. Gently explored the old marks around her spine. “Back-alley cybernetics and the way Rishi’s sun brings out all the freckles on your face.”

“Do you always talk like this in bed?”

At that he tilted his head in a noncommittal gesture. “Guess I’ll tell you if we do this again.”

“I’ll hold you to that soon enough,” she said.

That earned a smile, and just a little touch of crimson to his cheeks. Then he leaned in and laid a kiss on one of the darker marks flecked across the dark blue of her face. “Didn’t even know Chiss got freckles.”

She said nothing in return, merely watched as Theron closed his eyes and curled up against her. Neither of them had slept as much as they should have as of late. Better to take full advantage of what remained of their hour.

There’d be no shortage of work to do later.

And it’d be easier if they had trust between them.


End file.
